


The Roads That Lead Us Home

by CatsBalletHarveySpecter



Category: Jopper - Fandom, Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: Flashback, Jopper AU, Season3Jopper, highschool jopper, stranger things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26887051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatsBalletHarveySpecter/pseuds/CatsBalletHarveySpecter
Summary: Joyce reflects on a piece of her past as she prepares to leave Hawkins. Jopper Highschool AU. One-shot.
Relationships: Joyce Byers & Jim "Chief" Hopper, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	The Roads That Lead Us Home

**The Roads That Lead Us Home**

* * *

Joyce hates goodbyes. She always had. She thinks that they may be the cruellest aspect of life. How was someone expected to bid farewell to something or someone that had become a part of them? It didn’t seem right. It certainly wasn’t fair.

This goodbye, however hard it may be, she knows is necessary. For the safety of her children, all  _ three _ of them, and for her own well-being. 

It wasn’t going to be easy. But it was a part of life that had to be accepted. Packing up her house in Hawkins was the second hardest thing she had to face that year (the first being losing Hopper, again), though watching her kids say goodbye to their friends came awfully close to leaving Hawkins. There is a heavy silence that rings through the cabin of the moving van and she can tell from the redness in El’s cheeks that she’s looking out the window to prevent Joyce from seeing her tears.

Joyce stares out her own window as she indicates her left turn and they continue on their journey toward the edge of Hawkins. There is a strange comfort in the silence between her and Eleven, a mutual understanding of the loss they had each experienced and the emotion that accompanied saying goodbye to the only place either of them ever truly felt  _ home.  _

They drive past the community center with the pool, past Melvalds and the arcade until they are nearly on the outskirts of town and are trapped at a red light. 

Joyce stares out the driver's side window at the faded sign next to the now-closed restaurant. An establishment formerly known as  _ Benny’s.  _ It had become rundown in the last decade, but she smiles to herself as she thinks about the numerous days she spent there after school. It was once  _ the  _ spot to be after class and she spent her fair share of evenings in the red-lined booths, sharing fries with her friends. 

* * *

“Hop, get out of my way,” she demands, folding her arms over her chest. 

“Nah,” he smirks. 

“Jim,” she pauses, hearing his first name roll off her tongue felt unnatural, she’d been calling him Hop for years, “ _ Move.  _ Or I’ll make you move.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

He knew she was smaller than him and despite her feisty attitude, she had no chance of pushing past him and back into the diner. He and Joyce had been coming to Benny’s nearly every day after school since their junior year when Benny Jr. started dating Joyce’’s best friend, Karen Wheeler. Today was just like every other day, only it wasn’t. 

He and Joyce had kissed last night. 

He drove her home, cut the engine and waited for her to gather her book bag as he usually did, but she made no effort to gather her things or exit the car. Driving Joyce home had become somewhat of a ritual and sometimes, when she was dreading returning home, she would sit in the front seat of his car, nervously fidgeting with her thumbs while they talked about anything and everything until she found the courage to face her family. He never minded. He enjoyed her company and their conversations. He only lived a few houses up the road and he knew that his father would wave his curfew if he spotted the car in Joyce’s driveway. 

Last night, while they were discussing the upcoming school dance,  _ everything _ changed. He was teasing her, as he so often did, about not having a date, only this time she seemed to take his insults to heart and began yelling at him about how Chrissy wasn’t exactly an ideal prom date and “who was he to be giving dating advice” when he leaned over and shut her up with a kiss. 

He’s not sure what possessed him to do it, but he doesn’t regret it. He’d wanted to kiss Joyce since he met her. There were countless times beneath the bleachers when he considered leaning over and making a move but he always chickened out. It was in that moment, mid-lecture from Joyce about his choice of prom dates, that he knew he simply had to kiss her. And so, he did. 

He was half expecting her to slap him away but was pleasantly surprised to find her returning the kiss. Before he knew what was happening, she’d managed to crawl into his lap, her tongue battling against his as his hands found their way to her hips. 

What began as a simple kiss soon turned into a heated makeout session in the front seat of his car. It wasn’t until he pulled back to catch his breath that Joyce pulled away and dropped her head into her hands while gasping  _ oh god.  _ She grabbed her bag, hopped out of the car and made a beeline for her front door before he had a chance to say another word.

He considered going after her but decided she would be angry at him for imposing on her family life (something she was very sensitive about).

He sat in her driveway for a few moments after she closed the door, staring at the house, his hands ghosting over his lips while he wondered what had just happened. He hardly slept a wink, wondering what this all meant for him and Joyce. 

When he stopped by to pick her up for school the following morning, her mother informed him that she’d taken the bus. She’d managed to avoid him in school all day, but now that they were all here at the diner, he finally had a chance to talk to her. This is exactly why he’d followed her down the corridor to the ladies' room and was now standing in her path, refusing to let her return to her table until they talked about it. 

“Joyce,” he breathes. 

“Hop.”

“We need to talk about last night.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

“Actually, I don't. Now, if you don’t mind my fries are getting cold,” she huffs. She tries to brush past him but his outstretched hand prevents her from succeeding and she finds herself trapped between the battered diner wall and his upper body. 

“Hop, what are you trying to do?” 

He had to hand her to her, she had one hell of a poker face and she sure wasn’t backing down. 

“This,” he smirks before leaning down to capture her lips with his own. 

She stills at the contact but gives in to the kiss for a brief moment before swatting him in the chest and demanding he explains what the hell he thought he was doing. 

“Well, I just figured if you didn’t want to talk about it maybe you’d want to…”

“Don’t you dare even finish that sentence,” she states, glaring up at him. 

He steps back, allowing her to step away from the wall but he holds her gaze. 

“You kissed me back, Joyce,” he says as she begins to walk away. 

“We’re friends.  _ Just _ friends.” She clarifies. She’d been up half the night thinking about their friendship and her running conclusion was that she couldn’t lose him. He was her best friend. No matter how curious she was, she couldn’t risk everything for potentially nothing. 

“For now.” 

“What the hell does that even mean?” She rolls her eyes and folds her arms over her chest once again. 

“You’re into me, Joyce.”

“Get over yourself Hop, I’m not into you.”

“Oh no? So I guess I should take Chrissy to the dance then. Instead of asking you?” he smirks.

“You were never going to ask me,” she tries to call his bluff. 

“I was thinking about it.” It wasn’t a lie. He’d been up half the night thinking about it. 

“That’s total bullshit and you know it,” she remarks. 

She makes no effort to return to their friends, instead opting to pace the length of the hall leading to the ladies' room. 

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll believe you if you let me take you on a date and you can still tell me afterwards that you aren’t into me.”

“That’s absolutely ridiculous, Hop,” she chuckles, a smile creeping across her lips. 

“Do we have a deal?” he asks.

“You’re not taking me out on a date,” she says. 

“Alright, then I’m forced to believe that you’re into me,” he winks at her playfully and she groans. She hated that he had her here. She wasn’t sure what he was trying to do, but he knew how to push her buttons better than anyone and he was succeeding in further flustering her. 

“You can buy me a milkshake, how does that sound?” She makes a counter offer. She knew he wasn’t going to give up on his ridiculous notion, so she may as well play along. 

“Sounds like a  _ date _ to me.”

“It’s not a date.”

“It’s a date.”

“Go order the milkshake before I change my mind,” she replies. 

She watches as he returns to the diner and decides to return to the ladies' room to splash some cold water on her face before rejoining him. Her stomach was still in knots from their kiss and she grabs the edge of the sink to try and ground herself. She couldn’t give in to the fantasy, not when her friendship was on the line. Even though every fibre in her body was alive with anticipation, she couldn’t kiss him again, even if their kiss last night made time stand still. Even though she wanted to. She had to remember, this was Hopper. The same boy that teased her cigarette choice and made fun of her for protesting mainstream school events. 

Joyce returns to the diner to find him sitting at a booth in the far corner, away from their friends. She slides into the seat across from him and asks, “why the hell are you sitting over here? We already had seats.”

“With other people,” he points out, “here.” He slides a chocolate milkshake with two straws towards her and grins. 

“We’re sharing, huh?”

“It won’t kill you.”

They share stories about their respective school days while finishing the milkshake and Joyce has to admit, it feels no different than every other day after school. There was something about Hopper’s presence she found comforting and talking to him was always much easier than talking to anyone else. 

At some point, her knee falls against his beneath the table and he places a hand over it. She blushes but doesn’t pull away. 

“Do you want to get out of here?” She asks. Their friends had begun to stare and she suddenly felt hot and crowded. 

He nods, pays for the shake and follows her out into the parking lot where he finds her leaning against his car, waiting for him. 

“Did you mean it when you said you were thinking about asking me to the dance?” She asks out of the blue.

“Yes,” he nods. He takes a few steps towards where she’s leaning against his car door. 

“Why?”

“Look, Joyce. I’m really sorry if I made things weird last night. Or today, with the date comment, I was just playing around, I didn’t think you’d actually agree to it.”

“Were you playing around last night, too?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“Because I wanted to,” he admits. He sticks his hands in his pockets and shrugs. “And I don’t regret it.”

“You don’t?” She peers up at him shyly. 

“No. I’d do it again if you’d let me.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” He has no idea what they’ve just agreed on. But he goes with it.

“Do you want a ride home?” He offers. She accepts and climbs into the car, where they begin silently driving back to her house. She thanks him for the ride, grabs her bag and begins walking towards her front door. 

She stops abruptly and spins back around towards the open car window.

“You know, if you did decide you wanted to ask me to the dance, I wouldn’t say no.”

“Is this you suggesting that I ask you to the dance?” 

“It could be,” she smirks. 

“But I thought you didn’t want…”

“It can’t ruin our friendship,” she states. 

“Of course not,” he agrees. 

“Goodnight Hop,” she waves, once again walking away from the car. “Thanks for the milkshake.”

“Goodnight.”

“Oh and Hopper!” She calls out from the porch, “I’d let you do it again.” 

* * *

The light turns green and Joyce slowly presses down on the gas pedal, leaving the town of Hawkins behind her. She smiles to herself as she thinks back on that unofficial first date at Benny’s. He did kiss her again, in fact, they spent the next year and a half falling in love. Her first love, and in some twisted sense, her last. 

“Mom,” a voice interrupts her thoughts. 

“Yes?” She says, turning to face El. 

“You’re smiling. I missed your smile.” 


End file.
